i didn't say that i would not have any conversations at all about extending the bush tax cuts. i just said we wouldn't extend them for the wealthy. we didn't. you can argue that during the campaign i said -- i set the criteria for wealthy at $250,000, and we ended up being at $400,000, but the fact of the matter is millionaires and billionairres are paying significantly more in taxes just as i said. so for, you know, from the start, my concern was making sure that we had a tax code that was fair and it protected the middle class, and my biggest priority was making sure that middle class taxes did not go up. the difference between this year and 20112 is the fact that we have already made $1.2 trillion in cuts, and at the time i indicated that there were cuts that we could sensibly make that would not damage our economy, would not impede growth. i said at the time i think we should pair it up with revenue in order to have an overall balanced package, but my own budget reflected cuts in discretionary spending. my own budget reflected the cuts that needed to be made, and we've made